Hydraulic air-compressor



(No Model.) 2 Sheds-Sheet 1.

W. F. STARK. HYDRAULIC AIR COMPRESSOR.

Patented AprQlZ, 1898.

AT-TORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

WILLIAM F. STARK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGN OR TO THE STANDARD PUMP ANDFILTER COMPANY, OF NEW JERSEY.

HYDRAULIC AIR-COMPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 602,247, dated April12, 1898. Application filed May 21, 1897. Serial No. 637,504 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. STARK, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Air-Compressors, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of hy draulic air-compressors ofwhich the compressor shown in the patent to E. M. Hugentobler, No.842,798, dated June 1, 1886, is a type. In fact, the present compressoroperates on the same principle as that described in said patent; but theobject of the present invention is in the main to simplify theconstruction, avoid a multiplicity of mechanical parts and valves,provide better access to the' parts, and avoid loss of water by waste.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention. 1

Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of the compressor, showing the cupfloat seated downward and closing the inlet parts for the liquid. Fig. 2is a similar view to Fig. 1, but showing the cup-float seated upward andclosing the outlet for the liquid. Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sectionsin the broken planes indicated, respectively, by the lines 00? and x inFig. 2. Fig. 5 is an under side view of the shell 12. Fig. 6 is a planView of a part of the base, showing the inlets 8. i Fig. 7 is ahorizontal section through the water inlet and out let in the base. Fig.8 illustrates a modification of the means for operating the lever 19.

It may be said, primarily, that this compressor is automatic in itsaction, the water rising in the compression-chamber and displacing theair, which is forced by way of the air-outlet to the air holder orreservoir.

When the water shall have risen to a prede-,

termined level, the air-inlet is opened and the water flows off, beingreplaced by air. The operation is then repeated and will continue solong as the pressure in the holder is less than that of the incomingwater.

1 is a casing or cylinder clamped between a head 2 and a base 3,by rodsand nuts 4. (Seen in Fig. 3.) In the base is an inlet 5 for the water orother liquid, provided, as seen in Fig. 1, with an ordinarypressure-regulator stem 13.

6, which will require no description. The infiowing water enters anannular chamber 7,

formed in the base, and rises into the compression-chamber of the casing1 through .10. Rising from the crown of the shell 12 is a tubular stem13, the function of which will be hereinafter explained.

14 is the cup-float, open at the top and having an aperture in itsbottom through which .passes the cylindrical stem of the shell 12, the

margin of the aperture fitting snugly, but not tightly, about the saidstem. When the cup-float is in the position seen in Fig. 1, its bottomrests on and closes the inlet-ports 8,

and when it rises a rubber packing 15 on the upper surface'of its bottombears on the under surface of the hollow shell 12 and closes the annularport 12. To effect a perfect closure, the margins of the port 12 may bebeveled or brought to an edge, as shown. The movement up and down of thecup-float need not be great, about a quarter of an inch or even lessserving the purpose On the stem 13 is mounted to slide freely an upperfloat 16, supported when in its lower position on a slight shoulder orstop on the In this stem is loosely fitted a lifterrod 17, and on theupper end of this rod is secured an adjustable head 18, which is insubstance a'nicked button, to receive a screwdriver having a tubularshank which screws onto the upper end of the rod 17. To keep the rodfrom turning when thehead 18 is screwed down or up thereon foradjustment, it is preferred to make the bore in the stem 13 square incross-section and to fix on the rod 17 one or more square blocks 17 tofit loosely in said bore. The button of the head 18 is large enough totake over the float 16,

so that when the float rises it will take under the button and lift therod 17.

The stem 13 is connected to the shell 12 by a fork at its base, andfulcrumed on the shell is a lever 19, one end of which takes under thelower end of the rod 17 and the other under some part of the cup-float.For convenience of adjustment a screw 20 is set in the bottom of thecup-float, and the end of the lever 19 takes under the broad head ofthis screw.

In the head 2 of the casing is formed a chamber or recess provided witha removable cap plate or cover 21, in which is formed the air-.

inlet 22 and on the under side of which is fulcrumed at 11 a lever 23.At its outer end this lever carries a valve 2 1, preferably of rubber,which closes upwardly against the airinlet to stop it, and at its innerend it has an apertured head 23, arranged directly over the head of therod 17 and directly under the air-outlet neck 25 in the head 2. Screwedonto the neck 25 is the usual nipple 26 to receive the air pipe or hosewhich conducts the air from the compressor to the holder, and on anipple 27 within the body of the nipple 26 is the ordinary slittedrubber check 28, which prevents the air from returning to thecompressioirchamber.

The operation of the compressor will now be described. Promising thatthe compression-chamber is primed (as it will always be when in use)with water about the cup-float sufficient to buoy it up to the positionseen in Fig. 2 the water is turned on, and flowing in at the ports orinlets 8 it rises about the cup-float, thus holding it up firmly to theshell 12. As the water continues to rise it first fills the cup-floatand continues to rise in the chamber, displacing the air above it andcompressing the latter or forcing it to the holder. It will be notedthat during this op eration the valve 2 1 is closing the air-inlet 22,the head 23 on the opposite end of the valvelever suflicing to keep thevalve up to its seat about the inlet. As the water continues to rise,however, it begins to submerge the upper float 16, and when thesubmergence suflices to buoy up said upper float the latter rises, andcarrying with it the rod 17 it lifts the inner end of the valve-lever 23and moves the valve 2 1 from its seat. Instantly the air tension isrelieved and the cup-float 14 falls to the position seen in Fig. 1, thusclosing the inlet-ports 8 and stopping the further influx of water. Thisit is enabled to do by the cup-float being made relatively heavy and theaggregate area of the inlet-ports 8 relatively small. When the cup-floatfalls, the annular outlet-port 12 in the shell 12 is opened and thewater flows out thereat, thus allowing the upper float 16 to descend andthe air to enter at the air-inlet 22. It will be obvious, however, thatbut for some means of keeping the air-inlet open it would be closed whenthe float 16 descended. The lever 19 and the screw 20 on the cup-floatprovide such means. When the cup-float drops, the head of the screw 20draws down the outer end of the lever 19, and the other end of saidlever takes under the lower end of the rod 13 and thus supports said rodin its elevated position under the valve-lever, so keeping the air-inletvalve from its seat. As soon as the water shall have been drawn offthrough the hollow of the cup-float the water incarcerated in thecompression-chamber exterior to said float and which rises to the levelof the top of the float will again buoy up or lift the cupfloat, and theoperation above described will be repeated. This operation will go onautomatically until the tension of the air in the holder or reservoirbecomes too great, when the operation will cease until this tension isreduced. Then the operation will proceed again as before.

In this class of devices it is very important that easy access should behad to certain parts for adjustment, and in my construction this easyaccess is afforded. For example, to adjust the head 18 of the rod 17 upor down without removing the head 2 the operator has only to remove theair-outlet nozzle, lift out the inner nipple 011 which is the rubbercheckvalve, and pass down a screw-driver through the aperture in thehead or end of the airvalve lever in order to rotate the head 18. Theair-inlet valve may be reached and adjusted by removing the cap-plate21, as the lever 23 is fulcrumed on and connected to this cap-plate.These features of construction are important, as it frequently happensthat these ad j ustments must be m ade and the valve 24 renewed afterthe compressor has been set up and at work.

By weighting the floats 14 and 16 the proper regulation may be effected.If the float 16 be made heavier, the water will rise higher in thechamber before said float is lifted. Normally during the usual operationof the compressor the water stands in the compressionchamber exterior tothe cup-float at about the level of its top, and the cup-float should beso weighted that it requires the water to stand at about this level inorder to lift it. Otherwise the cup will lift and close the outletbefore the whole of the water-flows out.

The adjustment of the head 18 on the rod 17 and the adjustment of thescrew 20 are necessary to cause the air-inlet 22 to be opened at theproper time.

If the air-inlet valve 24 should stick and remain closed from any cause,the water may continue to rise in the compression-chamber and eventuallypass the air-check valve at the outlet. To prevent this and as aprecautionary device, a ball-float 29, furnished with a rubber diskvalve, is fixed to a grooved or fluted stem 30, which is suspended inthe outlet-bore in the inner nipple 27. This device does not prevent theoutflow of air, but when the water rises it raises the ball-float 29 andcloses the IIO outlet. The nipple 27, it will be seen, has a disk-likebase 27 which fits in and rests on a shoulder in the neck 25 and is helddown in place by the screw-cap formed with the nipple 26. The float 29fits loosely in the neck and may be withdrawn by first removing theouter nipple 26, thus leaving a free passage through the neck for theinsertion of a screwdriver.

To prevent the rotation of the cup-float, there is a pin 31, Fig. 2, inthe base, which passes up into the hollow screw 20.

Fig. 8 illustrates a slightly different construction of the means foroperating the lever 19 on the shell 12. In this construction a ring-likeweight 32 is fixed in the bottom of the cup-float, and it has formed onit or fixed to it an upright 32, having an arm 32 ,which projects outover the lever 19, and in'this arm is set a screw 20, which impinges onthe lever 19. The arm 32 may have several screwholes, in either of whichthe screw 20 can be set so as to impinge on the lever at differentdistances from its fulcrum. In this case the pin 31 passes up into ahole or socket in the upright 32. It should, perhaps, be explained thatthe cup-float when it rises exposes a much greater area to pressure onthe lower face of its bottom than on the upper face thereof, themushroom-head of the shell 12 occupying considerably more area than thestem of said shell, and hence when there is tension on the air above therising water in the compression-chamber in excess of atmosphericpressure the differential pressure on the submerged cup-float holds thelatter in its elevated position; but the float 16, being pressed upwardby the rising water, finally forces the air-inlet valve from its seatand the small amount of incarcerated air at the top of thecompression-chamber instantly escapes with a puff. At this instant therelative specific gravities of the water and the submerged andproperly-weighted cup-float come normally into play and the latter fallsto the position seen in Fig. 1, opening the water-outlet and seatingitself directly over and closing the water inlets or ports 8.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A hydraulicair-compressor of the character described having a water-inlet portopening into the compression-chamber at its bottom, a water-outlet portopening downward, and a submergeable cup-float having its bottom betweensaid ports and adapted to close the water-outlet port when buoyed up bythe water, and to seat itself directly on and close the water-inlet portwhen it sinks by gravity, said cup-float having sufficient weight whensubmerged to prevent the influx of water and being guided in itsup-anddown movements, substantially as set forth.

2. In a hydraulic air-compressor of the character described, thecombination with the base, having in it a main liquid-inletcommunicating with liquid-inlet ports 8, opening into thecompression-chamber from the bottom, and a main outlet for the liquid,of the shell 12, having an outlet-port 12, communicating with the mainliquid-outlet through the upright stem of said shell, and a cup-float14, adapted to move up and down on the stem of the shell 12, and toclose the outlet-port 12 when buoyed up, and to seat on and close theinlet-ports 8 when it sinks to the bottom of the com pression-chamber,substantially as set forth.

3. In a hydraulic air-compressor of the character described, thecombination with the fixed, upright stem 13, forming a guide for the rod17, the said rod, having a head 18, the valve controlling the air-inlet,and the lever 23, carrying said valve and having its arm arranged overthe head 18, of a lever 19, fulcrumed on a fixed part, one arm of whichtakes under the rod 17, the cup-float having a projection which takesover the other arm of the lever 19, and the upper float 16, guided onthe stem 13 and adapted to take under the head 18, when the float rises,whereby the airinlet is opened by the rise of the upper float and keptopen by thedescent of the cup-float, substantially as set forth.

4. In a hydraulic air-compressor of the character described, thecombination with the head or cover of the compression-chamber, and theremovable plate 21, having in it the air-inlet 22, of the valve-lever23, fulcrumed on said plate 21, and the valve 24 mounted on one arm ofsaid lever, the other arm of the lever being weighted to keep said valveup to its seat whereby ready access to said valve and lever is provided,substantially as set forth.

5. In a hydraulic air-compressor of the character described, thecombination with the upright, fixed stem 13, the float 16, guidedthereon, the rod 17 guided non-rotatively on said stem and having ascrew-adj ustable head, 18, adapted to take over a part of the float, ofthe valve controlling the air-inlet, and the lever 23, carrying saidvalve, said lever having an apertured head 23, which takes over thenicked head 18, and said head 23 being arranged directly beneath theair-outlet, whereby the head 18 may be conveniently adjusted on itsstem.

6. In a hydraulic air-compressor, the combination with the casingcontaining the compression-chamber, having a cover or head 2 and a base3, having a main inlet 5, a chamber 7, ports 8, for the admission ofwater to the compression-chamber, and a main outlet 10, of the shell 12,having a hollow stem, fixed in the base, and an annular outlet-port 12,communicating with the outlet 10, the cupfloat 14, having an aperture inits bottom embracing the stem of the shell 12, and adapted to move upand down thereon to seat on and close, respectively, the outlet andinlet for the water, an inlet for the air, a valve and lever controllingsaid air-inlet, a float adaptmy name in the presence of two subscribinged, when buoyed up, to open said valve, and witnesses. means, controlledand operated by the cupfloat whereby, on the descent of the latter,TILLIAM sq the air-inlet valve is kept open, substantially lVitnesses:as set forth. HENRY CONNETT,

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed PETER A. Boss.

